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Language of the People
A System of Communication 'A Brief History' The EnºThromii Runic language system was developed by two members of the First known as Moon Weaver and Strong Bow. Upon their reception of the gift of the Wolf Father they discovered that they gained the ability to speak and understand the language of the Wolf race; a language they had previously not known existed. The sounds and words of the language were such that only those with the physical anatomy of a canine species and now the new EnºThromii could use and while in humanoid form, they retained this ability. Due to the limitations of the Canine mouth structure, the language of the Humans and the complex and difficult language of the ilaedrian were impossible for the EnºThromii to use in Wolf form. This posed a problem for the two First. Both foresaw a need for the language of the new race to grow and evolve as the race did but the wolf language was a basic and simplistic language. Wolf Spirits held no need for the written word. To this end The First developed a language system with two sets of runes, the first being the Lesser Runes that would in time become widely known as the Wolf Runes and the second the called High Runes that would find gradual decline in use until they became almost a mystical form of writing and called the Elder Runes. The Lesser Runes were developed as a form of rapid communication, a way for the people while in their full war form to communicate concepts and situations with composite pictogram like runes. Concepts such as Hunger, family, danger, travel, fire, safety and battle each took on a composite pictogram that was easy to learn and easily written on stone, wood, sand, parchment or carved into the walls of a building by a passing Bolverkr on his way to a battle. This became system became known as the Wolf Runes and is still in use today by many. There is no central record of how many runes have been developed over the Epochs since their development. While core runes remain unchanged, each community develops their own for situations unique to their locations. These new runes travel by word or use through the race slowly by trade, conversation or discovery by others. The High Runes were intended to be more closely linked to a written language such as Ilaedrian or one of the numerous human languages. Each individual rune would represent a sound or composite sound that the EnºThromii could produce with their war-form mouth. This system became enshrined as a higher form of language and was rapidly accepted as the script used for communication of formal and serious information between the elders and shaman of the race as it expanded across Unarath. As the time progressed more and more Pact-Born joined the growing numbers of the people; beings who had grown up with their own languages and their own writing systems based on those of the race into which they had been born. Thus Ilaedrian script and the script of the Human cultures became the standard with a Trade script being very common. Most Pact-born chose to rely upon the languages of their birth vice learning a new and very foreign runic system; the Wolf Runes being the easier to learn as a minimum. The use of Elder Runes fell out of favor with the passage of time until rare to find one of the people who could read it; rarer still to find one who could write it. Many of the ancient EnºThromii Texts that have survived the passage of time are written in Elder Runes and are regarded by the people as artifacts of great and powerfully wisdom however few are left who can unlock the words within them. Consonants and Resonance Humanoids form words from the compounding of sounds. Sounds are referred to in the English language as consonants and are formed by a combination of a process of three things, passage of over vocal chords, constriction of the mouth and throat and articulation of the tongue and mouth. With these three events, humanoids are able to form numerous sounds each adding to the uniqueness of their racial language (Scottish Gaelic vs. Japanese.) Looking at the cross section of the humanoid skull: Common consonants and resonance in humanoid languages are broken into the following categories *'Labial' - those sounds created by the articulation of the lips (p, b, m, w) *'Labiodental' - sounds made by lips and teeth'' (f, v)'' *'Dental' - those sounds made by pressing the tongue against the teeth (th, Spanisht and d) *'Alveolar' - those sounds made by pressing the tongue behind the teeth (s, z, t and r, rolling r) *'Palato-Alveolar' - those sounds made by pressing the tongue against the palate further behind the teeth (sh and zh) *'Palatal' - those sounds made by pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth / soft palate (Spanish ñ, the Italian gn) '' *'Velar''' - sounds made with the top of the tongue against the back of the mouth (k, g, ng) *'Uvular' - sounds made with the tongue compressing back as far as it can in the back of the mouth (the French r) *'Glottal' - sounds made by constriction of the throat. (John Lennon saying Bottle and various Germanic languages) '' This is why the humanoid races of Unarath are able to learn others languages; they all share a common basis of making sounds While in Wolf Form, the EnºThromii do not possess the same articulation of their lips nor have the same structure of mouth as humanoid. This poses a huge problem when trying to speak the language of another race. While in wolf form, the people cannot pronounce any consonant made by labial or labiodental articulation. this means that "p", "b", "w". "f" and "v" are beyond the capability of the people. "m" is possible only because the EnºThromii have the ability to vibrate their chest in such a way that it approximates the sound of "m" The EnºThromii have the ability to form another consonant sound that is used extensively in the wolf language; '''the Thoracic rumble. '''Often this rumble is confused with a growl by those unfamiliar with the people and their language. *'Thoracic''' - A deep rumbling undertone that is made simultaneously to other sounds. the pitch and depth of the rumble is used to denote different emphasis on the pronunciation of other consonants. Resonance of sound plays a integral part of the language of the wolf. The Thoracic rumble is made by the constriction of the throat to achieve the right tone of resonance and is originated by the vibration of the chest muscles to force air from the lungs. The sound is impossible for humans or other humanoids to make and when attempted comes across as a human trying to growl and speak at the same time, often resulting in a coughing fit; something the people find highly amusing. Reversely those Moon-Born who learn other languages later in life do not fully learn how to use labial or labiodental consonants properly when in humanoid form and as such develop a very distinct accent when trying to speak languages other then Wolf. EnºThromii maintain the ability to use the Thoracic rumble while in humanoid form because of the anatomical changes they go through when receiving the gift of the Wolf Father. DICTIONARY OF THE WOLF Writing in the EnºThromii Language The EnºThromii two tiered runic language / writing system was developed by two members of the First, Moon Weaver and Johdur. The system comprises of widely used Runes known as Wolf Runes or Lesser Runes and the almost extinct Elder Runes or High Runes. Lesser (Wolf) Runes The Lesser Runes were developed as a form of rapid communication for the people to communicate concepts, situations or emotions while in their massive war-form when the only writing tools at hand were a claw and something in which to carve the message. The pictographic symbols are composite symbols that are used to describe concepts such as Hunger, family, danger, travel, fire, safety and battle, each with a simple unique Runic symbol. These are easy to learn and easily written on stone, wood, sand, parchment or carved into the walls of a building by a passing Bolverkr on his way to a battle. Lesser Runes became known known as Wolf Runes and are still in use today by many including non-EnºThromii. Lesser Runes are considered to be dynamic and the number of them continue to grow as more and more are created by the People to apply to their specific needs. In time individual regional dialects may evolve as the Wolf Runes describe what may be unique to an individual community or a territory at large. High (Elder) Runes The High Runes were intended to be a written language system such as Ilaedrian or one of the numerous human languages. Each individual rune would represent a sound or composite sound that the EnºThromii could produce with their war-form mouth. This system became enshrined as a higher form of language and was rapidly accepted as the script used for communication of formal and serious information between the elders and shaman of the race as it expanded across Unarath. With the increase in the number of Pact Born among the people, they bring with them the writing systems and languages of the race into which they were born and raised. High Runes has fallen into disuse being replaced by Ilaedrian and Human Trade script being the standard form of written communication. It is not uncommon to find EnºThromii words written in Ilaedrian or Trade as many Pact-Born found it easier to use what they arleady knew rather then learn a completely new system of script.. The few ancient EnºThromii tomes and scrolls that have survived the passage of time are written in Elder Runes and are regarded by the people as artifacts of great and powerful wisdom however few are left who can unlock the words within them. The Synod of the Arcane is an exception to this and those EnºThromii Magi who have membership within that learned institution prefer use Elder Runes to inscribe their Spell Tomes much to the jealousy of their non EnºThromii associates. EnºThromii Mages often refer to Elder Runes as Moon Weaver's Runes and claim that the Elder Runes give their spells added potency. Category:En'Thromii Category:Languages of Unarath